Has Tee Ball Gotten Out of Control?

Parents all over America are spending their afternoons and Saturdays at the ball park. Children as young as three and four years old are playing tee ball.

Some of these children practice two and three times a week along with having two or three ballgames mixed in the middle. The children are tired and the games can last until eight or nine o'clock at night. After they get home, the children still need supper, to do homework, and get a bath.

Some of the children enjoy the time that they are spending at the ball field. Other children sit and play in the dirt and watch the balls roll by. They had prefer not to play but their parents feel that it is a necessity. The parents either want the children to play due to social reasons, past childhood dreams, or because they feel that it will benefit their child in the long run. Either way, the child could find more enjoyment in a different activity.

In addition to the facts that some parents keep their children up late and insist that they play tee ball or spring baseball and softball, some parents become so competitive that the fun is completely taken out of the sport. I have sat at the fields and watched and listened to parents yelling and scolding three and four year old boys and girls for not running fast enough or hitting hard enough.

I have also witnessed boys and girls refuse to play with one another or be friends because one team beat another team. Parents alike also argue with one another and fuss over scores, safe plays, and outs. These all are great disgraces for a game which should be fun for the children.

Sports such as this for young children should be about learning basic fundamentals, learning good sportsmanship, and learning to be part of a team. It should never be about learning some of the things that the children see and hear from their parents.